College Football Season Kicks Off With The Unthinkable

PHILADELPHIA — Anyone who knows me knows I fancy NFL football to the college game due to the cockamamie BCS system where championships are matched by uninformed voters or computers instead of on the field.

But you have to appreciate the pageantry and enthusiasm of the college game. And the opening Saturday of the college football schedule did not disappoint.

The day did feature the usual blowouts of high profile teams beating up on “cupcakes”, Penn State throttling Florida International 59-0 comes to mind. But I love that teams that are considered to have no chance can sometimes pull the unthinkable upset (Since 1978 when the NCAA began classifying I-A and I-AA, no I-AA team has ever beaten a ranked I-A team).

Well, it happened on Saturday as defending I-AA champion Appalachian State defeated mighty and overrated No. 5 Michigan 34-32 at the “Big House”. The game was not completed until the final whistle with ASU safety Corey Lynch preserving the win with a block of a Michigan field goal with seconds left.

The star of the game for me was the Mountaineers’ sophomore quarterback Armanti Edwards, who was magnificent in leading the two-time NCAA divisional champs to the win.

The left-handed mercurial quarterback (a poor man’s Pat White) threw for 227 yards with 3 TDs and kept his cool in front of a crowd of the over 100,000 Big Blue fans even when he threw two interceptions.

He also kept Michigan honest with his dual threat skills by running for 62 yards. He may not be a favorite for the Heisman, but he sure is the leader so far for the Walter Payton Award (1-AA player of the year).

Lloyd’s Leftovers

Hey Charlie!!! Thanks for giving the kid a chance, not !!!: In a move that I thought was ridiculous Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis named Demetrius Jones the starter at quarterback versus Georgia Tech and gave him only a little over one quarter to hold the job. Sure Jones had two fumbles, but he only got to throw two passes and needed the opportunity to take his lumps and learn.

To be honest none of the Irish’s players played well in an embarassing 33-3 home loss. Weis said after the game he’s not sure who the starter will be next week against Penn State.

But I am sure we can expect Jones to be converted to WR without an opportunity to regain his job back from the equally ineffective Evan Sharpley and prized recruit Jimmy Claussen.